Applications & Apps Business

Samsung addresses the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend at Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2013 with Knox-- a container solution separating work and personal smartphone use.

Part of the Samsung for Enterprise (SAFE) program, Knox incorporates Security Enhanced (SE) Android from the NSA and integrity management implemented in both hardware and Android framework.

The idea is not new (VMware offers a similar product, Horizon Mobile), but Knox appears to be the easier implementation. Users access the Knox environment via home screen icon, which comes complete with enterprise apps (including email, browser, contacts, calendars, CRM and BI) and MDM, VPN and directory service compatibility.

IT departments have full control of the Knox environment, while exisiting Android apps automatically get enterprise integration and validation without need for source code changes.

Knox is already available on SAFE-certified phones, so far being the Samsung Galaxy S III and Galaxy Note II.

Samsung does not reveal the actual amount of the investment, but says Cloudant technology is “especially critical for large enterprise businesses… [in managing] the proliferation of data to be created by, mobile devices, machine-to-machine technologies, and the ‘Internet of things’ in the future.”

The Cloudant DBaaS loads, stores, analyses and distributes application data for developers of large or fast-growing web and mobile apps, and the company comments it will use the cash to "further improve global data distribution technologies and mobile application data management."

In other words, the technology sounds ideal should Samsung it want an own enterprise iCloud-style data syncing solution for its legion of smartphones. And with Apple quietly pushing the iPhone as a BlackBerry replacement, it is probable Samsung also wants a slice of the enterprise mobility market.

Following the BlackBerry 10 launch the company formerly known as RIM teams up with Trend Micro to provide customers with security against malware and privacy issues relating to 3rd party apps.

Therefore as part of a "multi-level and phased approach for addressing privacy implications and security concerns" BlackBerry now uses Trend Micro's Mobile Application Reputation service to scan both current and future apps submitted to the BlackBerry World storefront.

The Mobile Application Reputation service is a cloud-based tool for mobile platforms designed to analyse app code and behavior in order to identify threats and data risks, as well as detect battery, memory and data resource abuse.

Mobile malware is on the rise-- even if the vast majority of said malware targets the vast, wild Android landscape rather than the BlackBerry platform. Then again the partnership does help raise both vendors' profile as they push further into the enterprise mobility segment.

Amazon takes a carefully aimed shot at the iTunes dominance over on-iDevice music sales with the launch of an online store selling 22 million mp3s on a specially formatted HTML5 mobile website.

Optimised to run on iOS Safari, the Amazon MP3 Store dodges the 30% fee Apple charges on iOS in-app purchases. Songs purchased this way do not get added automatically to iDevice music libraries, but users can sync mp3s via PC iTunes.

Users can also download and listen purchases on the Amazon Cloud Player app (also available on Android devices).

“Since the launch of the Amazon Cloud Player app for iPhone and iPod Touch, a top request from customers has been the ability to buy music from Amazon right from their devices,” Amazon says.

Belkin announces an addition to the Mixit DuraTek durable cable line-- a USB-C cable featuring Kevlar-reinforced conductors and double-braided nylon shielding on the outside.
The USB-C cable is certified by both...

Snap-- aka the rebranded Snapchat-- announces the Spectacles, its video-recording sunglasses, are now available in Europe, 7 months after an initial US launch.
For the unfamiliar, the Spectacles are a pair...